The Water Seeker

Amos Kincaid is the son of a dowser a person gifted in knowing how to find water deep in the ground. As a young person, Amos doesnt reveal his gift to others; hes not sure he wants the burden. But through his experiences growing up and crossing the Oregon Trail, Amos learns about lifes harsh realities, especially the pain in losing loved ones. As he cares for those around him, Amos comes to accept his dowsing fate.

After reading the glowing reviews of this book I was disappointed and had to force myself to plow on to the end. In fairness, just before this book I listened to "Nightwoods" by Charles Frazier, which had a similar vibe and the same reader, and "The Water Seeker" just didn't measure up. Will Patton is, as usual, an extraordinary reader.

Not My Father's Son: A Memoir

With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage. At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father's Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside.

I can't express too many superlatives for this book. Alan Cumming uses cuts from the present to the past, along with occasional wild humor, to tell us a disturbing story in a way that allows the reader to take it in a bit at a time. And what color and detail he brings as a reader!

This is one of my favorite Audible books, along with Cumming's reading of "Macbeth".

The Escape

John Puller's older brother, Robert, was convicted of treason and national security crimes. His inexplicable escape from prison makes him the most wanted criminal in the country. Some in the government believe that John Puller represents their best chance at capturing Robert alive, and so Puller takes on the burden of bringing his brother in to face justice. But Puller quickly discovers that there are others pursuing his brother, who only see Robert as a traitor and are unconcerned if he survives.

While this was a well-crafted and very complex plot, for me the book really suffered from the female reader, from the cheesy background music, and from the ridiculous sound effects which assume that the reader is too addlebrained to figure out what the readers are saying without assistance. The worst was when a room with one lightbulb was mentioned and we heard the sound of the light bulb. Spare me.

Blue Labyrinth

A long-buried family secret resurfaces when one of Aloysius Pendergast's most implacable enemies shows up on his doorstep as a murdered corpse. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect murder, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased. The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California's desolate Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his family's sinister past.

Books in this series always make for a ripping story, and this one was especially good.

On a a different subject, a fun drinking game would be to have a shot every time the authors mismatch a singular subject with a plural verb, as in, "No one knows what the active ingredient in these botanicals are." Down the hatch everybody.

Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life

Internationally best-selling novelist and American icon Tom Robbins delivers the long-awaited tale of his wild life and times, both at home and around the globe. The grandchild of Baptist preachers, Robbins would become over the course of half a century a poet-interruptus, an air force weatherman, a radio DJ, an art-critic-turned-psychedelic-journeyman, a world-famous novelist, and a counter-culture hero, leading a life as unlikely, magical, and bizarre as those of his quixotic characters.

I had never read a Robbins book, but I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. Whether or not you like what he has to say, his writing is a tsunami of simile, a monsoon of metaphor, with witty bon mots bursting forth like slick new-born puppies or ... well, you get the picture.

The Lost Island: Gideon Crew, Book 3

Gideon Crew, brilliant scientist, master thief, is living on borrowed time. When his mysterious employer, Eli Glinn, gives him an eyebrow-raising mission, he has no reason to refuse. Gideon's task: steal a page from the priceless Book of Kells, now on display in New York City and protected by unbreakable security. Accomplishing the impossible, Gideon steals the parchment - only to learn that hidden beneath the gorgeously illuminated image is a treasure map dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks.

Fever Dream

At the old family manse in Louisiana, Special Agent Pendergast is putting to rest long-ignored possessions reminiscent of his wife Helen's tragic death, only to make a stunning - and dreadful - discovery. Helen had been mauled by an unusually large and vicious lion while they were big game hunting in Africa. But now, Pendergast learns that her rifle-her only protection from the beast-had been deliberately loaded with blanks. Who could have wanted Helen dead...and why?

As these Pendergast books go, I thought this was one of the best, and a book that could almost stand on its own without reading others in the series. There was none of the red herring supernatural plot twists that are in other books, and none of those annoying mind journeys. Just a ripping good mystery with lots of bad guys and swamp mud. I said that the book could almost stand on its own. There is a sub-plot involving Pendergast's ward that would not make much sense if you didn't read the previous books, but it is not crucial. If you're tired of Sherlock Holmes, it's time for Special Agent Pendergast.

Wayward: Wayward Pines, Book 2

Welcome to Wayward Pines, population 461. Nestled amid picture-perfect mountains, the idyllic town is a modern-day Eden - except for the electrified fence and razor wire, snipers scoping everything 24/7, and the relentless surveillance tracking each word and gesture. None of the residents know how they got here. They are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. Some believe they are dead. Others think they're trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise.

I was ho-hum about the first book so I don't quite know why I ordered the second book, but I'm glad I did. The characters were much more developed and there was a great deal more dramatic tension in the second book. As others have noted, it's hard to say much more than that without getting into the plot, but I'll just say, if you find yourself rolling your eyes in the first book, hang in there to Book Two.

Pines

Wayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America — or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accident lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into his colleagues’ disappearance turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he make contact with his family in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what’s the purpose of the electrified fences encircling the town? Are they keeping the residents in? Or something else out? Each step toward the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face the horrifying possibility that he may never leave Wayward Pines alive…

This was a fascinating head-scratcher right up to the last chapter, and then it was a disappointment for me. I can't say more without being a plot spiller, but when it came down to the end, the pieces didn't fit. Having said that, I got the second volume, so maybe I will love that and eat my words.

Invisible

Everyone thinks Emmy Dockery is crazy. Obsessed with finding the link between hundreds of unsolved cases, Emmy has taken leave from her job as an FBI researcher. Now all she has are the newspaper clippings that wallpaper her bedroom, and her recurring nightmares of an all-consuming fire. Not even Emmy's ex-boyfriend, field agent Harrison "Books" Bookman, will believe her that hundreds of kidnappings, rapes, and murders are all connected.

PerryMartinBookReviews says:"Does a serial killer exist if no one knows?"

Hounded

Andy Carpenter isn't sure what to think when he gets a mysterious phone call from a good friend, policeman Pete Stanton, asking him to drop everything, drive to an unfamiliar address, and bring his girlfriend, Laurie Collins. He certainly isn't expecting to show up at a crime scene. But that's exactly where he arrives - at the house where Pete has just discovered the body of ex-convict Danny Balfour. Upstairs are Danny's now orphaned four-year-old son and basset hound. And that, Andy discovers, is why he and Laurie were called to the scene - Pete wants them to take care of the boy and the dog so they won't get thrown into the "system". This is already asking a lot, but soon Pete needs another big favor from Andy. Pete himself has come under suspicion for Danny's murder, and he needs defense attorney Andy to represent him - and to find out what really happened in Danny's house that day!

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